Season 3.5 in which we talk to The Outlaw Theologian of Love, Advent 4
We go to the school of love with our special co-host, The Outlaw Theologian of Love, a.k.a. Dr Thomas Jay Oord. Tom helps us understand the broader theological themes of love and the different types of love described in the Bible. As we go through the lectionary texts for Advent Week 4, Tom helps us see themes of love in selected texts.
Tom discusses these as a “full-orbed love”. You can read more about the full-orbed love by Tom going here.
Connect with Tom and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also find Tom’s collection of photos.
Lectionary Overview
5:4 And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth;
5:5 and he shall be the one of peace.
80:3 Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
80:4 O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
10:8 When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law),
10:9 then he added, "See, I have come to do your will." He abolishes the first in order to establish the second.
10:10 And it is by God's will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
1:46 And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord,
1:47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
1:48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;1:52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly….
1:53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
1:54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
1:55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
Resources:
Stuffing shoe boxes for the world’s poor? Maybe you should reconsider
“Being generous requires us to dedicate profound thought to what the person receiving our generosity actually needs,” McNamara says. “So often, the church makes generosity synonymous with the free giving of stuff, but it’s not.”
They actually have a whole series of these word videos-- one on hope, one on peace, one on joy, and one on love-- that they collected into a special "package" for Advent. Surprised I didn't think of it until now! https://thebibleproject.com/explore/the-advent-series/
Carl McColman – The Heart of Celtic Spirituality is Hospitality
“Hospitality does not erase religious (or any other) differences. But within the gracious gesture of hospitality, our tribal identities cease to become the defining factor of who we are.”
Texas Church Offers ‘Free Mom Hugs’ At Pride Parade To Those Who Need Them
“Mom and blogger Jen Hatmaker, shared emotional images from the parade on her Instagram account, sharing that her ‘beloved little church’ showed up to the parade, arms at the ready. They offered everything from ‘Free Mom Hugs, Free Dad Hugs, Free Grana Hugs, and Free Pastor Hugs like it was our paying job.’”
Wendell Berry’s “Room of Love”
“To live, we must daily break the body and shed the blood of Creation. When we do this knowingly, lovingly, skillfully, reverently, it is a sacrament. When we do it ignorantly, greedily, clumsily, destructively, it is a desecration. In such desecration we condemn ourselves to spiritual and moral loneliness, and others to want…as Berry’s phrasing suggests, reverent breaking is not just about discrete actions, but about the kind of people we are. Most of us who exploit the world, after all, are not so vicious that we willingly do things to desecrate God’s creation. Rather, we do it through our carelessness, laziness, or ignorance, failing to recognize the connection between our actions and the health of creation. And so, the real question with Berry isn’t so much how we can break creation reverently, but how we can become the sort of people capable of breaking creation reverently.
Poetry:
Wendell Berry – The Country of Marriage
Books:
Get the books from Thomas Jay Oord. You can find them at Tom’s website. While you are there, please register on Tom’s website to receive updates, newsletters, and news about publications of essays, lecture schedules, book.
Sign up for Tom’s newsletter while here.
Movies:
In this comedy, Lars Lindstrom is an awkwardly shy young man in a small northern town who finally brings home the girl of his dreams to his brother and sister-in-law's home. The only problem is that she's not real - she's a sex doll Lars ordered off the Internet. But sex is not what Lars has in mind, but rather a deep, meaningful relationship. His sister-in-law is worried for him, his brother thinks he's nuts, but eventually the entire town goes along with his delusion in support of this sweet natured boy that they've always loved.
When Edward Bloom (Albert Finney) becomes ill, his son, William (Billy Crudup), travels to be with him. William has a strained relationship with Edward because his father has always told exaggerated stories about his life, and William thinks he's never really told the truth. Even on his deathbed, Edward recounts fantastical anecdotes. When William, who is a journalist, starts to investigate his father's tales, he begins to understand the man and his penchant for storytelling.
Music:
Link to the All That’s Holy Blue Collar Podcast music on Spotify
Kathleen Lundquist - Of the Father’s Love Begotten
(Sorry about the skips on the recording. The actual track sounds much better!)
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - I Believe in Father Christmas
One the first anti-war songs that stuck with me. Wikipedia adds about this song what I remembered staying with me the first time I saw the video: The video for the record was shot on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, and in the Dead Sea Scrolls caves in the West Bank, and includes footage from the Vietnam War.
Children’s Resource idea:
